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"Deported" Girl Flying Back From Guatemala In First Class
By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 28, 2011
Modified Mar 28, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 28, 2011
Modified Mar 28, 2011
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Emily Ruiz, the 4-year-old U.S. citizen who was de facto deported from the country earlier this month will be back in the States by the end of the week, according to her lawyer David Sperling. And what's more, she'll be flying back to the States in style. "Immigration treated her like a second-class citizen, but we're going to bring her here and she's going to come first class," Sperling quipped to reporters.
Ruiz was sent back to Guatamala on March 11 by Customs after her grandfather's visa was called into question (he had been accompanying her back to the country). After much confusion Customs agents eventually told Emily's father Leonel Ruiz, who speaks only limited English, that they could either send Emily back to Guatemala or they could put her in a juvenile facility.
Her parents, illegal immigrants themselves, were worried that if they were to have picked Emily up themselves they would have run the risk of being detained. Worried Emily would be put up for adoption in a juvenile facility, she was sent back to Guatemala.
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customs
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emily ruiz
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Garth Johnston
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